I'm Not Afraid Anymore
by EnvytheSkunk
Summary: I couldn't think of a better name. So this is another MT4 contest entry. Anyway, Po and Tigress have been together for a long while and today is a special day. Shifu's given everybody the day off. How will they spend it. Read and see. Review to let me know what was good or bad please!


**Hi people of the internet! I have decided to try to do another one-shot MT4 contest entry. Why is that you asked. Well I'll tell you. The theme of this round is "Wedding" and I just felt like doing it.**

 **However I can't start yet. I need to clarify some things so it will be less confusing.**

 **So here's a list of things that's a thing in my headcanon for this one-shot.**

 **1\. Tigress is the Phoenix Warrioress:**

 **Long story short, tigers had their own prophecy, Tigress was that prophecy, boom she's the phoenix warrioress.**

 **2\. Tigress' mother is alive:**

 **This is a long story so I'm just going to say she's alive, Tigress' loves her but finds her a little overbearing, Po and Tigress' mom get along great, and Tigress feels guilty to not feeling the way Po does towards her. Tigress' mother also is claustrophobic so she likes sleeping outside in the open while Tigress and everybody else saw this as completely dangerous so she lives in the panda village which doesn't bother Li Shan or anybody else there since she's a pretty fun person. She used to be a docile, quiet person like all good housewives were suppose to be but the day her own husband (now ex and dead) put her in prison for years to go insane because she wanted to protect her daughter she stopped caring about being the "perfect little lady", does as she pleases, and fights who she pleases (Shifu got a taste of that a little after she thanked him for taking care of when they first met. Needless to say Shifu doesn't have a good opinion of her. He only tolerates because she's Tigress' real mother. Also deep down he knew he deserved that.)**

 **3\. Po almost was betrothed to Tigress before:**

 **It's a long story but I can say it didn't work out.**

 **|0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0| 0=}-{=0|**

In the very early morning in a valley known as the Valley of Peace we see a giant panda running the streets. He pants from the running as if he was in a hurry which he probably was. That black and white bear in the burlap pants was none other than Po. the Dragon Warrior. He becomes tired of running as if he has been doing it all day. He passes a little bridge a soon is at the literal gate of his destination. It was more of a wall with an arch-like hole though for citizens to pass through. Po puts one hand on the wall and bends his body a little to relax for he is out of breath from all the running . After a minute or two of catching ihs breath the giant goes inside the establishment. This specific place was once his full-time home, his goose dad's noodle shop. The shop is know as the "Dragon Warrior's Noodle Shop and Tofu" since the owner, Mr. Ping aka Po's goose dad wanted to exploit on his son's title. After Po pass a few empty tables for the shop wasn't open yet he goes to actual door to the actual shop and opens to goes insides. When the panda goes inside he pass a kitchen and on the left side of him is wooden stairs which he goes up. He slowly goes up them for he did not want to trip and it also signify that his journey is at end. Slowly but surely he reaches the top of the stairs and where it ends is his old bedroom which now he only uses when visits his dad for the night (or when he's too tired to go up the thousand steps to the Jade Palace at night). However, when he enters is room it reveal it's not empty for goose dad, Mr. Ping is there. Not just him though also his biological dad, Li Shan, his grandmaster Shifu, and Tigress' mother. All of them were standing around except for Li Shan who is sitting on Po's bent bed waiting for somebody to speak up. So small red panda master, Shifu decides to be the first. "Good Morning Dragon Warrior, is everything ready?", Asks the smiling, raised eyebrow Shifu.

Po finally speaks up and replies with enthusiasm, " You bet, I've got everything planned out for today! I even made Tigress a little note to meet me here."

 **|0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0| 0=}-{=0|**

(Still early in the morning but now in the student barracks near the Jade Palace.)

The morning gong finally rang and Tigress was already up and ready. Her other comrades Mantis, Monkey, Crane, and Viper stayed on their beds because today is special occasion. Master Shifu since it is spring and near upcoming festival to celebrate this time of season he declared the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior to have a break from morning training for a few days. They still had to train in the afternoon though because he didn't want to be too generous or they may become lazy, especially Po. Although Shifu had another reason to give them free time besides that he wasn't mentioning to them. However Po knew all bout it. Tigress wasn't able to get the panda to spill any information though. She didn't push that hard to get though because she respects her friend and suitor. The striped feline couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that she and Po are courting. She tries not to question that much though because this is a good thing and there's no need analyze it any further. Although she wasn't perfect with that though. Po didn't hold it against and always found a way to prove her wrong when she question if she was right for him. Speaking of Po, the tiger became curious when she goes outside her room and doesn't see the silhouette of the chubby panda on his room door. To satisfy her curiousty she opens the door to Po's room and finds a sroll on his bed. Assuming this scroll was meant for her she opens it. The message in pinyin said, " I had a feeling you would come in here to check on me. I had a few things to do since we have some free time for awhile. I have something planned for us so meet me at my dad's shop when your finished here. Don't have breakfast though. Just bring your beautiful self." The scrolls end with the words "Wo ai ni" which brought a smile to the striped cat's face. Tigress closes up the scroll and brings it with her to her room. She decides to groom her fur more for this occasion. She even decide to wear some perfume. She normally doesn't wear it often because when she does Po would usually try to nimble her in his sleep due to the food-like smell. She smirks of the possibility of that happening and decides she's willing to take the chance.

 **|0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0| 0=}-{=0|**

(Same time, back in the noodle shop)

Shifu replies to Po by saying, "Good, and we too have all the information we need in preparation if all goes to plan." All the panda could do is smile at the moment. Po suddenly realizes something so while his index fingers touching each other he anxiously asks, "So uhh... Does everybody agree to this... arrangement"? instantly everybody in the room points to Tigress' mother Po with his still anxious look while everybody else had a stern look on their face. "What?", asks the tiger mother when nobody would stop looking at her. She then puts her declawed paws up in defeat and says, "Ok, ok! I may have disagreed in the past but I just finally got my daughter back after many decades. I wanted to get to know her as a daughter before somebody took her away from me again. Now that I have that I'm all for this thing." She smiles at the younger of the giant pandas and says, " I mean Po's like the son I never wanted!"

Mr. Ping and Li Shan both gasp quietly at the feline mother's words while Po just look at her confused and Shifu just wears a deadpan look. The mother continues and explains, "Because if you were my son who would be there to court my daughter and give her the happiness I never got from my great spirits-forsaken dead husband!?" everybody then laughs in relief except for Shifu who just gave a little smirk. Li Shan, the older of the giant pandas felt a need to chime in so he does.

"So Po, are you nervous"? The younger panda was caught off guard by that question for a moment ." Nervous? Why on earth would I be... nervous heheh. I love her and she loves me. I have nothing to worry about.", says the black and white bear awkwardly. "You're lying through your teeth.", Mr. Ping points out seeing right through his lie along with everybody else. Li Shan smiles in a comforting manner, gets up from off Po's old bed, and puts a paw on his son's shoulder. "Son, it's ok to be nervous about these things, I was nervous my I married your mother."

Tigress' mother chimes in again with a nonchalant feel to her," Of course your were nervous Li, you were a young boy just becoming a man like all the others and your parents instantly start a wedding with a girl you never met. You couldn't say no to them in fear of you dishonoring them and them also disowning you. Not to mention you had to heed your parents saying "learn to love" the girl you don't know and if you don't you dishonor family and be miserable for the rest of your life. Compared to your experience, Po's thing it's a walk in the shop. They both know each other and are fond of one another. Plus they both have a choice in all of this without feeling like a disgrace to their families. What does the boy have to lose?"

"Her!", the young dragon warrior shouted. The tiger mother realizes her mistake and lowers her ears in guilt, "Oh!" Then the old tiger lady comes to the insecure panda and puts both her paws on his shoulders for Li Shan gave her the chance to because he let go his paw.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry for treating this lightly. It's just I truly believe what you're going through is much easier than what I had to go through. There still maybe things I don't know about my daughter and she may not ever let me know. I do know she feels a connection with you. She never told me but I can feel it when she is with you. I know it because it's the exact opposite of what I felt with whats-his-face. She may have the free will to say no to you, a luxury I never had. I have no doubt that thought will never cross her mind."

Po gives her a thoughtful smile to his possible future mother-in-law as he says," Thanks, that really means a lot to me. With a big bear tiger hug the old tiger lovingly says, "Anytime you sweet tray of dimsum you!" the dragon warrior couldn't help but feel awkward with the hug. He starts to wonder if this what Tigress felt like when her mother hugs tight while saying those cutesy things. Not to long after Mr. Ping joins in on the hug on one side of Po and says, " Oh I'm so excited for you! It's seems like it was only a week ago I caught you playing with your little action figures"! Po could only roll his eyes at his dad because it was exactly a week ago and it was just his attempt at a corny dad joke. Next Li Shan comes to hug the other side of Po while Po just sinks in the love because he's just a that kind of a guy. Shifu however, felt too awkward around the hugging animals and decides to look out the window. The master's eyes then widen in surprise at what he just saw. Shifu does not surprise easily so this must have been important. The small red panda lets a loud, "ahem"! This in turn gets everybody out of the hug and back to reality. "I hate to interrupt such a touching moment.", Says master Shifu in a stern tone "However, it appears the guest of honor has arrived". With a gasp the shocked dragon warrior goes to the window and sees that his master was right. Tigress is in the outside quarters of the noodle and will mostly go inside soon. "Tigress! Don't worry I'm comin'!", Shouts Po as he runs to the stairs. Unfortunately he trips on a loose floor board and trips on the stairs in a comedic fashion. He ends up on the bottom of the stairs, head first and with his chin to the ground. Double unfortunate, Tigress opened the door earlier and saw the panda's body slide down the stairs.

Po saw the female tiger towering over and the air of awkwardness filled him as he chuckles and says, "Good morning Tigress, You look lovely this angle". Tigress just genuinely smiles at Po's behavior and helps him up. After helping get up the panda thanks Tigress and she asks, "Are you okay"? Po reassuringly replies, " Don't worry about it. I may have a soft head but I have a hard skull. As Po finishes talking Tigress she notices a smell. It was sweet but it wasn't her perfume since it's a peach smell. If she didn't know any better she'd say it was... minty. Then it dawns on her Po has...

"Po did you brush your teeth this morning?"

The panda smirks at the fact that his girlfriend noticed so fast. "Yeah, I wanted to make things less unpleasant just in case you ever felt like... uh you know." Po and Tigress both start to walk out of the noodle shop's kitchen to leave. "Are you impressed?", Po asks Tigress hopefully.

"Yes, but only a little considering this is something you should have been doing already for yourself and not just for my sake." The "mighty" dragon warrior starts to feel guilty now.

"However, I'm sure I'll be extremely grateful later today", says Tigress soothingly as she grabs one of her boyfriend's paw into her's. The implication that was made from his girlfriend encourages Po as well as make him blush, not that she could see it though

"Noticing the fact that were going past many tables. I suppose were not eating at your father's shop", Asks the curious feline.

"Nope! I got something special planned for us my phoenix", answers Po as Tigress nudges him for calling her that. She didn't really care for that title because she stopped caring about titles long ago. So they finally leave the noodle shop completely as Po leads the way and Tigress still holding his paw. Unbeknownst to them, Li Shan, Tigress' mother, Mr. Ping, and Shifu were all looking at the window until the romantic couple left. Before they move away from the window Tigress' mother and Mr. Ping both say "aww" at the cute site, Li Shan just has a big grin on his face, and last of all Shifu just has a content look on his face. Getting out of the window wasn't an easy fit. All of them combined made them stuck. Fortunately, Shifu is able to get out first which will make it easier for everybody else. Sadly the unexpected escape from the red panda made everybody fall backwards and to the floor. Everybody is ok cool and surprisingly didn't make a hole on the top floor. So everybody picked themselves and wiped the dust off themselves. Li Shan is the first to speak again with his arms crossed and it's to the old tiger.

" You know my arranged marriage wasn't as horrible as you made it out to be"

"Of course it wasn't for you! You're the man and all betrothed men all look forward to only one thing!"

All the men in the noodle shop decided to go down stairs and leave the tigress to calm down from her whole "arranged marriage" bitterness. None of them wanted to her say that thing.

"What? I was going to say the banquet feast!"

 **|0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0| 0=}-{=0|**

Meanwhile with Po and Tigress, they were finally out of the Valley of Peace and into a that was filled with trees filled with their blossoms since it was spring. The panda boyfriend then points to their final destination. It is a picnic that looked like it was in the center of tons of blossoming trees. Tigress couldn't believe Po could be this romantic. She always knew that Po was more romantic than her but she never thought he would do something like this. Po looks at Tigress and sees her straight mouth and big shocked eyes on her face which gave Po his own big grin as he makes a fist and moves it down to congratulate his extra "boyfriend points"

"Soooo! Did I do good?", asks the grinning panda as he puts his arm around the baffled tiger.

" Yes Po, you did good.", Tigress answers as she roll her eyes gives him a half smile. Po claps his hands together ands shouts, "Well lets eat"!

So the panda boyfriend and tiger girlfriend each sat on one side of a blanket facing each other. Tigress looks at the food and notice that it wasn't the usual noodles, soup, or noodle soups. It's was Zhou (congee), toppings to go with the Zhou, Youtiao, soymilk to go with the Youtiao and Baozi.

"I thought you might want to have something other than noodles", Po points out. "I didn't know what type of Zhou you would want so I brought tons of toppings so you can mix it up however you like."

"Thank you Po, this all looks very delicious", says Tigress as she does a mini bow to show her appreciation. Po does a mini bow as but as soon as he finishes he Tigress unexpectingly kisses him as their heads hover over the food. Po is able to respond back to her lips quickly though due to past experience. The kiss didn't last long but it was still affectionate and Po definitely still enjoyed it as well as Tigress. The female tiger is the first to pull back from the for she had stronger willpower than the excited panda.

"Wow that was quick!", Po refers to how fast he got that kiss. "What was that for?", asks the curious panda.

"I figured this would be my last chance before the fresh minty panda leaves.", says Tigress and finishes with a laugh showing that she is secluded enough with her suitor that she can let her guard down. Po laughs at her reason and agrees, "Yeah, you're probably right." After their laughing spree ceases, Tigress waits for Po to start getting his food. However, Po is not getting the message and just stares at her. After a few seconds of awkward silence though it finally registers to the panda."Oh right! Sorry! Uhh, ladies first milady.", says the awkward warrior as he waves his arm around the food. The tiger master couldn't help but smile as she raises a nonexisistant as if saying "really" to him. She picks up a bowl to get the congee and starts to pick the topping she like. As she does that Po takes note on all the things she's picks out and mentally saves it in his mind. When she's finishes decorating her zhou she picks up one baozi with her chopsticks but she didn't touch the youtiao for she tries to stay away from as much grease as possible. It is now Po turns and as a panda he gets way more than Tigress. He got 2 bowls of zhou each one with different combinations of toppings, 3 baozi, and 1 youtiao got to watch his figure you know.

As Tigress is eating her meal she notices all the extra food left over. Surely couldn't eat all of this. Well, yeah he probably could but she doesn't think he would. He too has to watch out how much he eats, everybody can feel bloated from time to time and that's the last thing you want to feel like when fighting enemies. She's feels prone to ask, "Po, is somebody coming over here"?

Po just grins at her observation and tells her, " Ah, very perceptive of you master Tigress. Actually, yeah MeiMei is coming. The tiger's eyes become huge in disbelief as her mouth goes straight while she strains herself to not get mad.

"Oh really?", she tenses up trying to act like nothing is wrong. "What brings her here on such a special occasion?" Po sees this, smiles, and kisses her forehead to get her to loosen up. It works but she is still waiting for an explanation.

"Ok, ok!", Po says as he puts his paws up in defeat."I wanted this to be a surprise but MeiMei and some other guys are rehearsing for this big opera thing around here and she asked if we could watch as a token of her appreciation for all that we did for her. How could you say no to free breakfast and a show?"

"Oh, my apologies then. I simply forgotten MeiMei's current occupation.", Says Tigress with a relieved tone. "Well at least she's doing well with herself?", Tigress points out as she tries to forget her almost jealous behavior.

"Yeah, she said that she's becoming well known. She also bragged something about being one of the best in the business but you know how she is."

After forming a smirk and one flick of her chopsticks she adds to it with,"Indeed." Also with one question in her mind she asks, "So when will the "actress" be upon us"? Po answers, "She should be getting here soon." Suddenly the panda sees an opening for different topic. So with a smirk and half open eyelids, he scoots over to where his tiger is sitting, leans his shoulder against her's, and asks, " In the meantime why don't we talk about that awesome scent you're wearing"? Due to the close proximity and the question the tiger became some what flustered. She does her best to hide because she's still not that comfortable being flustered in front of her panda.

"Oh, well I just thought it would be nice to wear a little perfume for a change." Po decides to decides to tease her some more . "Are you sure it isn't because you didn't have time to take a bath this morning?", He asks rhetorically. " That's what I do sometimes with spices."

In an instant Tigress laughs in disgust, pushes down the panda to the grassy ground, and shouts playfully "Po, that's gross!" It didn't hurt him though since he was sitting down originally. The teasing bear then starts to laugh as well, more so than Tigress. He then suddenly feels strong furry arms around his neck and a chest touch his. He automatically knew it's Tigress. He couldn't help but ponder that she seems to be extra affectionate today. It's like she knew what he was planning. He hopes to the heavens above that's not the case.

"Yet you're still here!", Po replies a tenderly but still with a bit of a teasing tone.

"Po if I had let your lack of daily washing come between us. I wouldn't have my body this close to your's and probably would have never had your meals because I would have convinced myself that you never wash your hands." The panda laughs a little at that statement and says jokingly, "Geez Tigress! Give me some credit". From teasing to a serious tone the striped cat says, " However, that was then and I don't plan to ever go back to that."

Po lifts his head up a little so that his nose touches Tigress' as he cheerfully says; "Luckily you'll always have me to help you. As long as you give me a chance to and not carry the burden yourself. His striped girlfriend just nods and gives him a genuine loving smile. For a minute or two they just stare longingly to each other just appreciating the love that they have and gave to one another as well as all the hard cold years of loneliness are finally over. Then the black and white bear decides to take a chance and grab Tigress by the waist, hold her close, and rub his face against hers. This or course startles the lady tiger at first. As soon as she realizes what he is doing as he moves his head to the bottom of her neck she joins in. She too rubs her face to his starting with his chubby cheeks. Po laughs in victory as soon as she joined him while Tigress does her udder most not to giggle in return. As if it was fate itself the front of their faces were completely symmetrical and both their noses and mouths were touching one another's. They both smile which if one would look on the side of them it would just look like one big smile. In their eyes they both give each other a look that says "You thinking what I'm think?". Before they could do anything though they hear a big "aww!" coming from somewhere. They definitely knew it wasn't each other so they look to the side of them and see a wide female panda. It's MeiMei! Their big connected smile turned into a big frown. The tiger instantly backups of Po' s chest and puts on a straight to try to save her tough demeanor. Po on the other hand gets up from off the ground, wears a very awkward smile, and waves to MeiMei. Figuring it would be more polite they both stand up and attempt to bow trying to forget about the embarrassing encounter. Before they even had a chance to redeem themselves, MeiMei rushes to hug both of them at same time. The dragon warrior was hugged in one arm while his phoenix warrioress, Tigres is being hugged in the other arm

"Oh it's so good to see you both!", shouts excitedly the female panda. "From what I saw I don't think you need my rehearsel to entertain you guys.", says MeiMei as she releases them with a grin on her face and a teasing raised part of her face where one eyebrow should be. The flustered panda and tiger didn't say anything and did there best to no make eye contact with each other. Even though they are very close in their relationship they still feel shy showing public displays of affection. Even if it is just MeiMei. The female bear just laughs and says, " Don't get your ribbons in a knot, I'm just kidding." She decides to change the subject and asks them how was life treating them. They loosened up a little and Po tells her of the mornings off they have for awhile but they have to go back training in the afternoon. He also brings up the leftovers they have and tell her that she and her crew are free to have some. MeiMei is real pleased with that offer. After Po was finished talking MeiMei goes over to Tigress and tells her in a whisper that if she evers need help romancing her panda boyfriend that's she's always willing to help. She winks at her to confirm it while Tigress just stands there flustered again but with more will to try to act like a statue.

"Ok guys, you may sit down and finish the rest of you breakfast. I'm almost ready to start this thing. The guys behind just need to put their masks on as well as me and then we can get started", MeiMei informs and then walks to the rickshaw where four boars are standing. So the bear and cat begin to eat their meal again to finish it. While Tigress is eating she couldn't help the feeling that the four wild pigs looked oddly familiar. It was probably just her imagination though since she has fought many boar before. The performers hid behind the rickshaw to create an illusion. Suddenly they hear the female panda shout, "Hey! Could you guys please cover your eyes for a bit and then when I snap my finger you can uncover them?"

"Sure! No Problem!", replies Po. So the watchers decide to humor MeiMei and cover their eyes. Tigress was covering with one paw while Po uses both like a little kid. In no time at all they hear the snaps of the female bear and they uncover their eyes. They uncover their eyes and what they see is MeiMei but only her body because a paper fan is cover her face. She closes it then throws the fan to the side as if it was a throwing knife. The panda's face revealed to have a mask on it signfying her role in the story. The colors of her mask is red, yellow and black showing that she's a brave, rough, impartial, ambitious, fierce, and intelligent protagonist. Another performer, a boar and he is wearing a mask with the color of pink, blue, and yellow. The pink showed that he is the comic relief but the blue part says that he's extremely loyal while the yellow means he's ambitious, fierce, and intelligent like the protagonist. Po and Tigress could easily tell the two were going to be the main characters. Sometime in the middle of the opera the panda and tiger both finally finish their meals with Tigress obviously being the first to finish. As for the opera story, MeiMei and the boar both start to sing to tell the story. It's starts of nice, they show their friendship and how it progresses to love. Then it turns sour when three another boar come along that don't look friendly at all judging by their mask. The one in the center had a mask of white, green, and yellow. The white is to say he's the villain, the green shows that he's violent, while the yellow is the same as the first performers. The one in the center is the definitely the leader. The one of the left of the leader had a mask of white and blue while the one of the right had a mask of green and pink. With the two main characters out numbered it seems hopeless. While singing though the female panda pulls out a ribbon and fights the villains act like the ribbon is a weapon. The other main character didn't have a ribbon so he just uses dance movements to act as kung fu moves. It was a rough and fierce but to performing heroes came on top. The story ends with the lovers staring longingly into each others eyes and look forward to the future.

The female panda and the boar both bowed to show that the story has ended. Po and Tigress both clap for the actors but Po put more entusiasm into in by whistling a bit. However, Tigress notices how the "villains" of the story didn't come up to be applaud and takes note of this mystery. Quickly the excited panda lady comes up to the couple and asks," Did you really like"? Po reassures her by saying, " I'd be insane not to." Tigress then points out something by asking," The characters seem oddly familiar don't you think?"

"Any relation to creature alive or dead is completely coincidental.", says Memei in a mock serious tone but than winks which is saying something different?" Tigress instantly asks the question she was really curious about.

"Why weren't the other performers up to take a bow?" The female panda starts to get a little nervous. So she just waves her paws like it's no big deal and says, "Oh, don't worry about them! Their just uhm, shy." Tigress becomes even more suspicious." Hey why don't you guys eat now while Tigress and I go for a walk?", Po rapidly ask. He seemed very keen on changing the subject. MeiMei thought it was a great idea. So the couple left the place while MeiMei starts setting up her meal. Tigress decides to let go of her suspicions for now for Po's sake. Their walking leads them somewhere around the Valley of Peace. As they continued walking Po asks a question, "Tigress..."

"Hhm?"

"Where do you see yourself in a few years, in life I mean?"

Hesistant at first she answers by saying," Well, for many years I've always seen myself remain here ready to fight when help is needed and leave to fight." She appears to be in deep thought before she continues. "Not much has changed from that. All I hope is wherever I'm at... I have you by my side." Po feels satisfied with and responds, "That's great because I want the same thing."

"I know!", Tigress whispers to herself as she stops walking. Po notices and stops as well. Tigress doesn't whisper this time. "I know you have for a long time now." Po is confused at what she is trying to make Tigress just point one paw up as a sign she still has more to say

"Our first betrothal, was a mess to say the least, everybody was there assuming you already asked me because you told eveybody to count on it. You completely forgot because of all the mess before that with my mother and my species. Plus when the time came for me to truly answer I was cut short because my mother forbidden because she wanted to get to know before than. Although, I have a confession to make..."

Po was waiting for the confession, nervous as mantis in a female mantis harem.

"I was going to say no!", Tigress reluctantly admits. Something broke in the panda's there was so much that he wanted to say. With a stern but sad face she puts her paw up again as a wish to continue on.

"Part of it was I wanted to get to know my mother as well but the other part was I simply wasn't ready. I wished I was but I wasn't. I was still... scared that I wasn't ever going to be the one for you even if everything in the universe was pointing me to being the exact opposite. For that I am sorry, sorry for my lack of faith." Po tries to get closer to her to comfort but it's stopped by Tigress words. However, this time she has a content look on her face.

"Then I realized something. You're just as scared in this as I am. Either of us feel we deserve each other and yet we never stop trying to be worthy of it. Well, I'm tired of feeling unworthy. Why should I feel scared of losing the one that stood by me at my worst? Well I'm done. I'm not going to let my insecurties get in the way of my happiness anymore."

Po has a feeling he knows where this is going and he's a nervous wreck, "Uhh Tigress, what are saying? Tigress just smiles, grabs his paws and continues on, " I'm saying I love you Ping Po. Will grant me the highest of honor by becoming my husband?" Po could not believe his highly functioning ears. Tigress proposed to him! He kept telling himself in his head to say something nothing would come out except puffs of air. He hopes that somebody, anybody, would come to save him from this situation

"I um I .. heh. uum!"

"Po! Tigress! Bandits at the the Jade Palace!", Warns Crane as he as he lands on the ground. Po just stood there and thanks whoever was responible for bringing his fellow kung fu master friend.

Disappointed but she doesn't show Tigress asks Crane, "How bad is it?"

"Just 3 at the Jade Palace but I'm checking around just in case if any are hidden." Tigress lowers her eyelids in determinations, nods, and says in a stern tone, "Good, come on Po lets go I know exactly who these thieves are." With that she runs like a natural tiger would. Po on the another just runs on his two feet because he has short stubby legs and is not symmetrical with his arms. As he runs he wears a big grin on his face for some mysterious reason as if he knew something that the fierce tiger didn't.

 **|0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0 | 0=}-{=0| 0=}-{=0|**

As soon as they reachthe Jade Palace Tigress was still filled with adrenaline while Po is on the top of the stairs out of breath. Next the strong tiger opens the gates and sees the three boars there in the middle of the Jade Palace battle arena that was in front of the Jade Palace. The three boars were each carrying one red wooden box, although Tigress wasn't paying attention. Instantly the tiger recognizes who they all were, they were they were 3 performers of the 4 extra performers with MeiMei from earlier. With a grin of sheer determination the fierce tiger the Tigress says to the 3 boars, "I knew you three were bads news ever since you left without your applause. Well guess what, you just made my day." To show how serious she is she cracks her neck as well as her knuckles at the same time and the boars could almost feel a force of wind pass them. One of the boars then cry out in utter fear, "Oh shiitake mushrooms."

Po comes in the arena finally having th breath to do so and hears the sounds of punches and kicks. He sees Tigress doing a severe beating on them. He felt extremely and reacts to every hit they were getting. The battle was quick and the boars tried to fight back as well but they never stood a chance. So Tigress picks up the boxes calmy as the three boars lie on the in pain. Po walks up to Tigress, sees the boars, and says with a hint of guilt for them, "I see you went easy on them."

"Let's just rope them and take them to prison where they belong.", says Tigress for she is not in the mood for wasting time." That won't be necessary Tigress." Po then walks up to the boars, goes down on one, and apologizes.

"It's okay guys it's all over. Sorry about, she kind of came her in a bad mood. I'll get master Mantis to do some acupunture on you." Tigress couldn't help but be confused in all of this. She knew Po was merciful to his enemies, but this was ridiculous!

"Po, what the heck is going on?" So the secretive panda finally explains to her by saying, "Tigress, meet the recently reformed Gong Zhu gang. The bear points his paw to them while all the boars put their hoof their another hoof and try to bow while lying on the ground but the pain was still fresh which made it difficult to do so. The tiger is still confused however so Po continues to explain.

" This is one of the bandit gangs we stopped a few months ago. Apparently we beat them up so hard they decided to give up the thievin' business and chose the to be actors, they figured it would be similiar. Somewhere along the way they found MeiMei and are working with her for now."

"That still doesn't answers 3 out of 4 of them decide to go back to their life of crime and you going against them being in prison?", Tigress points out crossing her arms hoping Po has a good reason to save himself from her wrath.

"Because I told them to.", said as a matter-of-factly by Po

"What!", Tigress rightfully shouts. " I hope you're confident enough in the next words you use because I'm losing my patience", demands Tigress as she swifts her tail left and right, that's never a good sign. Po just smiles and says, " Because they're not really back to the life of crime. They just ACTED that way to make it seem legit. It's been slow around here lately and I wanted this date to be exciting for you because I know you don't usually go for all the sentimental mushy junk. They were ok with as long as they got free meals from my dad's shop for a week. They knew some kung fu from MeiMei so they figured they could take you for awhile." Po then looks at the bruised boars and continues," Although, I really didn't think they expected you to want to burn off some steam."

Tigress tries to pieces things together but she ask in for clarifications, " So... you hired men to steal stuff from the Jade Palace for me to fight... just to entertain me?"

"Uhh, yeah!", says Po awkwardly as he shrugs his wide black arms.

"Well, I must admit that's very creative and that did kind of work in that sense. Thank you Po", says Tigress still confused on her true feelings of this surprise but still appreciates it and give Po and small awkward smile.

"I would of just accepted flowers.", one boar points out. Nobody paid attention to him though.

Tigress chimes in again though this time back to her stern, warrior face and mentions, "However, that was still a very risky move and you could of put priceles artifacts in the hands of low down thieves."

"Hey!" The boars shouted. The guilt-filled panda just shrugs at them and looks at them with an awkward smile. Po looks backs at Tigress and explains for the last time with another smile, "See, that's just it. They didn't steal anything important from the from the Jade Palace." Tigress raises a stripe made to be an eyebrow in curiousity.

"Have you even seen what they "stoled"?", Po says in a way that makes somebody curious to look. He suddenly makes her realizes she hasn't been paying attention t what she was holding. She looks down to her hands and sees three wooden boxes. There was something else though, there is pinyin on the boxes. The piyin is her name which shows that these boxes was for her. They were gifts

"Now you see why I did this?", asks Po with enthusiasm. "I wanted you to see the surprise in an awesome way."

"At the expense of three boars.", Says one of the boars which are finally able to stand up.

"Look, I'm sorry and all but could you please wait outside the arena. You know this is kind of an important moment and I would really appreciate it if we were alone." With that the heed the dragon warrior's request and leave. Though they still mumble about they should of have gone for a month and that the fourth boar was darn lucky he didn't have to come.

All this was too much for Tigress. "Po, this is too much. I don't need all these gifts. You've done so much for me already. All I want is for you to answer my question.", Tigress tells Po while feeling uneasy thinking Po is trying to buy her love with gifts. That's the last thing she would ever want.

" Well, I want from you is to open those boxes. If you do that I promise I'll answer your question.", Says Po with a knowing smile. Tigress nods with a little uneasy smile as she does what Po wishes. The first box had tea in it which somewhat relieved the feline for it was not an expensive brand. The second box had a jade bead necklace, there's no way she could tell how much that cost but she assumes it was more than the tea. Last but not least, the third box had cakes in it. Her eyes went big though because these weren't any ordinary cakes. Each cake had an imprint of a dragon or phoenix. These cakes were the ones that are commonly used for bridal cakes. Then it hits her like a bamboo staff. Everything today was build up to this moment. Even though she knew what is happening she still hesistates to ask, "Po... Are this betrothal gifts?"

Po lovingly smiles nod once and asks rhetorically, "Do that answer your question?"

Tigress walks closer to him so she can get a better look at him, "So I suppose that settles it. We're betrothed.", She says while rubbing one arm with her paw something she rarely ever does. "I guess so. All aboard the sedan chair heh heh!", says the panda ending with a very awkward joke.

"We should probably tell Shifu, my mother and your father..."

"Yeah, you're right. They already knew what I was going to do but we still need to tell them that it actually worked", Po tells Tigress.

"Really? All of them know? How many knew about your plan?", asks a perplexed tiger. "Just our parents even my other dad , Crane, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, MeiMei, Gong Zhu gang, and Zeng although he's probably in the forest now bringing the dishes back to my dad."

"Po?"

"Hhm?"

"Are you okay with the fact I technically proposed first, I know it's not something normal and I almost ruined your plan", asks Tigress trying to make sure he isn't mad about anything. Po just waves he arm and says, "Nah, don't worry about. I maybe a little sad that I didn't get to do it first but I still liked how it turned out Even if Crane didn't come I'd probably just say no and that I'm not ready!" Tigress nudges Po for his obvious reference while he chuckles.

Tigress then comes up with an idea, "Hey Po."

"Yes, my betrothed lady!"

"Cute, but how do you feel about sealing this deal with a kiss?", Tigress asks her panda genuinely. Po, grins and replies, "Hey, I'm all for it. But since when did you get so romantic?"

"I just would like to make a new memory here since the last one was when we... well mostly me and your butt first met and I'm not exaclty proud of my behavior in that memory."

"Ok, then, I just hope you remember my breath is not a fresh as this morining", Po points out as he brings her close to him with one paw on her head and the other touching her back . Tigress puts her arms on his neck and seductively whispers, "As long as you can handle my rough tongue!"

"Whoa!", is all he could say to that. They rarely kiss deeply due to Tigress' tongue being rough as sandpaper. Though the thought of it about to happen now sends a shiver done his spine. He regains his senses and cheerfully says, "To the engagement!"

"To the engagement!", Tigress says as well but in a whisper. With that that they let mouth fully to have full experience of kissing. It was a little rough for Po at first but he got into it. Kind of like how their relationship was. When they finally got through the rough patch and learned from it they finally were able to fully give into each other. Both in their relationship and the kiss.

 **The End.**

 **Well that's my story. I hope you liked it and I portrayed the character. Leave a review and let me know if you like it or not. I hope this less evil of an ending. They may seem out of character but that's only because they're really deep into their relationship and this is part of bigger story ideas I'm may never post. I tried to portray this accurately. In other words not a western style proposal. They didn't give out rings in Ancient China and most probably never heard of the custom.**

 **I wish I could have done the wedding but I didn't have time and I wanted it to be a good story.**

 **Thank you for reading and I hope I didn't ruin any interpretations of characters for you.**


End file.
